1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for treating fingernails, and more particularly, to a device for removing fingernail polish with the aid of a liquid nail polish remover.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Fingernail polish is most often removed with a liquid fingernail polish remover such as acetone. A common method involves the use of an ordinary bottle of nail polish remover together with cotton balls. The cotton balls are soaked with fingernail polish remover and rubbed against the surface of the fingernail to remove the fingernail polish. This method works quite well except that the resulting stained, acetone-soaked cotton balls must be disposed of. Additionally, there is always the possibility of spillage of the nail polish remover at some time during the process.
Accordingly, a number of devices have been previously proposed to eliminate or reduce the mess which typically results from these prior methods. For example, Pryor, U.S. Pat. No. 3,341,884, has proposed a device having a nail polish remover reservoir which supplies nail polish remover to an applicator swab made of a coarse material such as mohair.
Another of these devices, Duceppe, U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,891, discloses a cylindrical, flat-bottomed container having a removable cover for holding fingernail polish remover. A sponge pad having a centrally-located finger receiving means is disposed within the container. The fingernail polish remover is absorbed by the sponge, so that upon insertion of the finger into the finger receiving hole and rotation of the finger, the inner surface of the finger receiving hole aids in removing the fingernail polish from the fingernail. This avoids the need for special brushes for removing the fingernail polish. This device, however, has suffered the disadvantage that the fingernail polish remover must be periodically poured into the container to replace that which has been used. Thus, the device is not entirely self-contained and does not completely eliminate the spillage problem.
A self-contained nail polish removing device was proposed by Autenrieth, EP-No. 49-759. This device comprises a cylindrical container divided into two parts by a perforated platform. The lower part is filled with nail polish remover, while a sponge having a finger slit is disposed in the upper part. When the cylindrical container is shaken, nail polish remover moves from the lower part through the perforated platform to soak the sponge with fingernail polish remover. The finger is then inserted into the finger slit to remove the fingernail polish.
This device also suffers from disadvantages. First of all, shaking the container to soak the sponge with nail polish can, at times, prove to be a messy experience. For instance, if the lid is not sealed properly, the nail polish remover can easily be sprayed onto the user during the shaking process. Additionally, it is considered to be cost efficient to be able to detach a self-contained nail polish removing device from its source of nail polish remover.